A fuel tank of a vehicle usually includes an opening through which various electrical devices are installed including a fuel pump, valves, and a fuel level sensor. The electrical devices are monitored and controlled by an electronic controller electrically connected to the devices by wiring. The controller is located outside the fuel tank, such as in a distant engine compartment of the vehicle.
Unfortunately, however, some controllers generate undesirable electromagnetically-radiated emissions, which are amplified by a long run of wiring between a controller and associated electrical devices. Therefore, controllers may be carried by the fuel tank at a location nearer the electrical devices in the fuel tank. But many controllers tend to generate heat, which is incompatible with the relatively soft plastic material of the fuel tank.
For example, from International Patent Publication Number WO 03/102405 A2, it is known to integrate a control module into a fuel tank closure or cap assembly, which seals a service opening of a fuel tank. Because vehicle fuel tanks are normally composed of plastic, such an arrangement involves a possibility that the control module and/or individual components thereof may overheat, thereby resulting in melting of the fuel tank plastic.